I'm More Than A Faunus
by The Useless Typewriter
Summary: Ever since leaving the White Fang, Blake Belladonna has had one goal: Stop the White Fang's plans. In pursuit of her goal, Blake meets a young wolf faunus, Ruby Rose, who may have a darker past than she lets on. With help from the young wolf faunus, Blake may finally have the key to defeating the White Fang. Real World/Vigilante AU with faunus and White Fang. Ladybug Pairing.
1. The First Meeting

The figure ran across rooftops, darting from ledge to ledge looking for a telltale sign that _they_ had been there. It was only when the shadow saw red claw marks on the wall did they stop their search. Pulling out a black katana the figure jumped down towards the claw.

A casual saunter towards the sign gave the figure an aura of confidence, masking their true feelings. Putting a hand against the markings the figure whispered, "Old. How did I never notice this?" Turning away from the claw, the figure melted back into the shadow of the night, leaving behind nothing but the faint smell of poison.

* * *

Ruby woke up in a cold sweat, reliving a frequent nightmare. It didn't take long for her sister, Yang Xiao Long, to break into the room with a worried look on her face. "What happened, Ruby?" she asked quickly.

"Just another nightmare," Ruby mumbled, ears flattened on top of her head.

Yang came to the side of her bed and gave Ruby a side hug. "You wanna talk about it?"

"It's the same one as always," Ruby told her. Yang sighed in agreement before leaning her head on her sister.

They sat in silence for a moment until Yang got up again. "You should try and go back to sleep. If you can't you can come sleep with me. Just try not to hurt yourself, okay." Ruby nodded silently and wrapped her tail around her waist. Yang left the room, closing the door quietly.

Once Ruby was sure Yang was gone, she let out the tears she had been holding back. "I miss you, Mom. I'm sorry," she whispered.

* * *

The next morning Ruby and Yang were in a rush to get to school since they had been up late the night before. "Girls, you need to eat breakfast," Taiyang told them sternly.

"Of course, Dad," Yang replied, "that's why I've got this!" She held up two apples, tossed one to Ruby and ran out the door. "See you later!"

"Wait up, Yang!" Ruby shouted, sprinting after her, tail wagging in excitement.

"That's not what I meant," Taiyang sighed.

Yang and Ruby walked to school, Ruby practically running in circles around Yang, not showing the slightest bit of sadness she had the night before. They reached Beacon High School and met up with Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Electronics Corporation and their best friend. "Weiss!" Ruby squealed in her normally hyper state.

"Dolt, brute," she greeted them respectively. Despite her cold demeanor they knew she cared a great deal about them both."I heard the new student should be arriving today."

Ruby's smile got wider, if that was even possible. "Really!" she shouted. "I wonder if we'll have any classes with them!"

Yang grabbed her sister by the collar of her thick red sweatshirt and told her, "Ms. Goodwitch did say they were a Junior like us." Ruby let out a loud squeal of excitement before rushing into class, excited to meet the new student.

Weiss sighed and looked at Yang. "She does know the new student could be just like Cardin."

"She doesn't have the heart to think like that," Yang replied.

* * *

Blake had only applied to Beacon High School because some of the faunus students probably had connections to the White Fang. Sure, she could probably use a real education and the library was likely vast, but there were more important things to focus on. Like the White Fang.

She had thought long and hard about how to hide her faunus heritage, and eventually it came down to the little black bow lying atop her head. "Time to see how this school runs," Blake muttered to herself.

The day started off without a hitch, learning where her homeroom was, but everything went south after first period. Ms. Goodwitch was a customary teacher who chose to introduce her new students in front of the entire class. "Listen up students, you have a new classmate today. Would you please introduce yourself?" she told Blake with words that sounded like an invitation but a tone that screamed superiority.

Standing up, Blake immediately made eye contact with the short girl right in front of her. The little girl looked far too young to be in the advanced placement mechanics class, and her silver eyes shown with an innocence that made Blake wince slightly inside. She had red tipped wolf ears and most likely a bushy tail that she was sitting on. "My name's Blake Belladonna," Blake spoke with a monotone voice.

"A little bit about yourself."

Blake gave an unreadable look at the teacher, but internally seethed. "I like books and quiet."

"Thank you, Blake. Since you're new you probably need a guide. Miss Rose, why don't you show her around after class," Goodwitch demanded.

The young girl in front of Blake, Rose, stuttered quietly, "Oh, um, y-yeah, sure Miss Goodwitch." The class continued without a hitch, and Blake just wondered if Rose would be the best guide to get information from, as a faunus, or the worst because of her awkward nature.

The question was soon answered when the bell rang and Blake started packing up her stuff. She heard a nervous shuffle and feet next to her bag. "Uh, hi, I'm Ruby Rose your, uh, guide I guess? Heh," she mumbled nervously.

Blake sighed and stood up with her bag. "Blake Belladonna."

"I know. I mean, you kinda told everyone your - it's, nevermind," Ruby embarrassed herself again. "I'll just, show you where you need to go." Blake wasn't sure if she wanted to ask Ruby any questions on the White Fang, seeing as the girl probably barely had any relation to them.

"My next class is with Doctor Oobleck," Blake told Ruby. The younger girl's ears perked as her eyes widened.

"I have him next too! I can walk you there!" Ruby said, suddenly much happier.

Smiling slightly at the girl's antics Blake softly said, "Sure, Ruby."

As Ruby led them to Oobleck's class, Blake decided to start questioning the girl, but to make it seem friendly. "You look a little young to be in these classes."

"Oh!" Ruby exclaimed, "That's because I got moved ahead two years by Principal Ozpin. I'm actually only fifteen."

"You must be really smart then," Blake praised her, trying to get the girl to open up more.

Ruby sputtered at the compliment, "No, no, you've got me wrong, I'm just, really, really lucky."

Blake smiled as the Ruby's cheeks grew red with embarrassment. "I can't imagine someone being moved up two years without tremendous skill." Ruby sputtered some more until she went silent, unsure how to continue the conversation. Blake almost brought up the White Fang, but held back, not quite sure she wanted to talk about such a heavy topic with such an innocent girl.

Ruby came to a stop in front of a large door. "Here we are, Doctor Oobleck's classroom."

"Thank you, Ruby," Blake told her.

"N-no problem, Blake! Hope to see you around!" The young wolf faunus sprinted inside the room leaving Blake standing outside.

"Yeah, maybe we'll talk again. See what you know."

* * *

Ruby tossed and turned in her bed, having another silent nightmare. A red sword, white petals, blood. Ruby looked down and found herself holding a white mask decorated with rose petals. "Mom," Ruby broke the still air.

A sound came from behind her, and Ruby started to observe her surroundings. She was in a dark warehouse, unrecognizable banners hung on all the walls. "Mom," she whimpered again. White rose petals started to fall from the ceiling, circling around Ruby before landing at her feet. Ruby wrapped her tail tight around herself, ears flattened on her head. She searched for the familiar comfort of her sweatshirt but found she was not wearing it.

The white mask in her hand started getting heavier and heavier until it fell out of her hands. Voices started echoing throughout the warehouse. _Dirty faunus … We have to fight to get them to recognize us! … Ruby, listen to me carefully … Run! … You could never escape us! … Little Rose … Oh red! … When I find you, you'll end up just like your mother_. The last voice sounded louder than the rest.

She looked up just in time to see Adam's red sword come rushing straight at her.

Ruby woke up screaming.


	2. Two Flowers

**So I originally planned to post this chapter later on in the week, and maybe over the weekend, but because I have nothing better to do right now, I decided to just get the story up and running. I don't have a schedule set up for the future, but I also know where I want to go with the story, so updates should be pretty frequent.**

 **Anyway, thank you to anyone who read, followed, favorited, or reviewed the story, I really appreciate it. Without further adieu, let's check out what Blake and Ruby are up to. Hey, that rhymes!**

* * *

After her nightmare, Ruby wasn't sure how she wanted to act around her friends. She could tell them what happened and get their help, or she could stay silent and melt back into her regular schedule. Deciding not to bring it up, Ruby spent the day acting like herself. "Blake!" she asked the girl, catching her in the hallway between classes, "I was wondering if you'd like to have lunch with me and my sister Yang and our friend Weiss!"

Blake looked sleep deprived, but it seemed that was just her constant mood. "Weiss, as in Weiss Schnee?" Blake asked with a hint of malice.

"Yeah! She's great," Ruby exclaimed, completely oblivious to Blake's undertone.

Shaking her head, Blake turned away from Ruby and spoke over her shoulder, "I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to mingle with your friends."

"Why?" Ruby asked Blake's retreating form.

Blake mumbled to herself, "So many reasons."

Ruby deflated as Blake walked away, but Weiss quickly came to her rescue. "Ruby, why are you moping around in the hallway when we have lunch period to get to?"

"Sorry," Ruby squeaked and followed Weiss, who took a moment to look in the direction Blake had gone, before scowling silently.

Meeting up with Yang in the cafeteria, Ruby and Weiss were greeted with a loud "Heyaaa!" from Yang.

"Yes, hello to you too, brute," Weiss huffed. Ruby just giggled and stretched in her sweatshirt. As Weiss and Yang started to bicker about something unimportant, Ruby pulled at the threads of her worn down red sweatshirt nervously. Blake had acted so strangely when Ruby had asked to sit with her. Did Blake not like her and Ruby had been getting the wrong message?

A voice interrupted her thoughts. "You okay, Rubes?" Yang asked her sister.

"Hm?" Ruby mumbled, looking up from her untouched sandwich. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine, totally fine."

"And I'm Weiss," Yang mocked, eliciting a "hey" from the heiress. "What's up?"

Ruby shifted uncomfortably. "Well that new student needed my help finding her classes yesterday-"

"Oooh, do we need to call in Jaune for some love advice?" Yang laughed, wiggling her eyebrows.

Ruby blushed bright red and hid her face. "It wasn't like that Yang! And Jaune's too oblivious to give love advice anyway. She needed help so I helped her. She was really nice to me and said she'd like to get to know me more. Well not really, she said she hoped to see me around. But I asked to sit with her today at lunch and she shot me down."

Weiss let out a little _hurmph_ and told Ruby, "If she doesn't want to be around you, then she's missing out on a great friend."

"Ah Weiss!" The sisters fawned.

"Oh shut up!"

* * *

Blake felt bad for shooting Ruby down. The girl was a little too hyperactive for Blake's quiet nature, but she was nice and a good relief from Blake's real world problems. It almost broke Blake's heart hearing that the faunus was friends with a Schnee. Poor girl was probably used and didn't even know it.

And relationship wise, Blake did not want to get involved with any of Ruby's friends. Sure, they'd probably be useful outlets too, but all of them would just result in gossip and teenagers being teenagers. If Blake could work up the courage to confront the wolf faunus on the White Fang topic, then she could stop thinking about Ruby.

It wasn't even that Blake disliked Ruby, she actually found the girl quite adorable, but bringing someone that innocent into an ongoing war was something Blake couldn't bring herself to do. Until Blake could talk to Ruby about her real goals, she would just play a nice friend and keep herself hidden behind the pages of a book.

* * *

The figure was out on the prowl once again, this time a smooth mask covering their face from nose to eyebrows, revealing striking amber eyes. Atop their head sat a pair of cat ears, sleek and black as night, almost unnoticeable along with the stark black catsuit.

Following a man on the almost completely bare streets was child's play, and soon the figure could pick up the man's conversation. "Look, I told you I haven't got anything yet… Yes she's on her way out, I heard… I got in contact with the mutts, they seem willing to partner up… I'll let him know… yes, sir, I'll keep you updated sir." The man put away his phone and mumbled, "He's unbearable. Least the pay is good."

The figure jumped off the roof and landed behind the man as he turned into an alleyway. He heard the impact on the ground and turned to face the masked figure. "What do you want? 'Nother one of them mutts?"

Slashing at the man with their concealed blade, the figure pushed him against the wall. "Tell me," the figure spoke in a low, feminine voice, "who were you talking to?"

"I'm not telling you anything!" The man yelled.

The masked woman pushed her blade closer to his neck, a thick scent of poison starting to reek through the air. "You tell me, our you die."

"He sent me to work with the White Fang-"

"The White Fang?" the figure's interest suddenly shifted. "What do you know about the White Fang," she demanded.

The man started, "I've been working with this faunus named Adam-"

"Adam!" The woman pulled away from the man momentarily and thought out her next questions carefully. "What is he-"

"Not important to you!" The man yelled before pulling out a thick knife. The masked figure reacted quickly, knocking the knife out of his hand and shoving her blade deep into his gut, poison soon flowing into his open veins. He gagged and fell limp against her body. A loud gasp echoed from the entrance to the alley.

* * *

Ruby had been unable to sleep after her recent nightmares, so she convinced Yang to let her go out to her favorite book store, From Dusk 'Till Dawn, since Taiyang was spending a night out with Qrow.

After browsing some books and magazines, Ruby decided to buy a book that piqued her interest, Team BLAK, a story about four girls working together to slay monsters and defeat their evil headmaster.

As she was walking home and fantasizing about her new book, a yell came from a nearby alleyway. Ruby went to investigate the alleyway and gasped at the sight. A man lay dying against a masked figure who held a blade lodged in the man's stomach as his body convulsed despite his state. "Dirty faunus," she heard him mutter as his eyes flicked between the figure and Ruby.

Ruby dropped her book, trying to get her body to run, but she was stuck in place. The figure pulled out the blade, and the wolf noticed it was tipped with black, a telltale sign it was covered in poison. The figure approached Ruby's frozen form, and Ruby couldn't help but whimper as her body refused to turn and run.

By the time the figure was right in front of Ruby, she could tell it was clearly a woman much taller than herself, and a cat faunus. "Please," Ruby whimpered, scared for her life. Was this faunus part of the White Fang?

The blade found itself millimeters away from Ruby's neck, the bitter smell putrid in her nose. "You say nothing." The familiar voice should have struck a chord in Ruby, but she was too terrified to notice anything but the blade. Ruby nodded furiously, almost cutting herself on the blade in her haste. "Good."

And the masked woman was gone, leaving Ruby to finally regain control of her legs. She sprinted home as fast as she could, disturbing Yang as she ran through the door.

"Everything fine at the bookstore, Rubes?" Yang asked, peeking her head out of her room.

Ruby gave Yang a large, fake smile. "Yup, same as every time!"

"Then where's your book?"

* * *

Adam stood in front of a map of the Vale District. They could be anywhere, and he had no clues. Slamming his fists on a nearby table, Adam let out a scream of frustration. A White Fang grunt walked through the doors and hesitantly called, "Sir?"

"What is it?" Adam seethed.

The grunt walked farther into the room and stood at attention. "We may have a lead on both your cases."

Suddenly much more interested, Adam took a step towards the grunt. "Explain."

"Well that human who came to work with us, he was found dead earlier tonight. Killed by a blade wound to the stomach and nightshade poison."

Adam smirked under his mask. Only one person worked like that.

"And in front of the killing there was a new book on the floor, and the receipt had the name Rose on it."

A laugh echoed through the room. "Both my flowers coming back to me. What a change of events."

The grunt took another awkward step. "There's more. That human's employer is sending one of his special agents. He said he's happy to provide us unlimited resources, the only thing he wants in return is Rose." Adam huffed in thought. Rose was a great resource to him, but what that human's employer was offering could be worth more.

"I suppose that can work. When will this agent be here?"

The grunt froze. "Uh, soon?"

Adam smiled and let out a little chuckle.

"This is going to be great."

* * *

 **So that was a thing. We got a little peek at Adam and what's going on with the White Fang. Also, there's this mysterious employer that obviously will have nothing to do with the plot. It'll probably seem like things are heating up very quickly, but I have a lot of action planned and I don't want to wait to get to chapter 20 for the important stuff to happen.**

 **On another note, I included the Team BLAK thing, because I thought it was cool how the voice actresses for Team RWBY (Lindsay, Kara, Arryn, and Barbara) spell out Team BLAK (Barbara, Lindsay, Arryn, Kara). I was thinking maybe writing a story about that, but I'm not sure yet. Anyway, enough of the fangirling.**

 **Next chapter will come out soon hopefully, and we'll get to see how Ruby reacts to this** _ **mysterious figure**_ **. Okay, let's be real, we all know who it is.**


	3. A Misunderstanding

**I'M BACK! Okay, yes, I posted this a lot later than I intended to, but I spent the long weekend with my family so I didn't have time to write. Thank you everyone who read, reviewed, followed, or favorited, I appreciate it. I also realized I forgot to put a disclaimer on the other chapters, so I'll start to have that. Anyway, hope you enjoy, I apologize for any typos.**

 **Disclaimer - Rooster Teeth owns RWBY, not me. If I did, Pyrrha would be alive or everyone would be dead.**

 **(Edited)**

* * *

The next day was hell. Ruby had managed to convince Yang that there were no interesting books, so she has returned home late after browsing for over an hour. The mysterious figure was still at the front of the crimsonette's mind, to the point she almost hallucinated the figure when she saw Blake at school.

All in all, things hadn't been too bad for the majority of the day. It was only when everyone was clearing out after the bell, save the football players suiting up for their game, that Ruby found herself in trouble. The wolf faunus had been at her locker, putting away her books from Professor Port's English class when someone behind her snickered. "So the wolf tail really does wag when she's excited."

Turning red with embarrassment, Ruby turned around to face Cardin Winchester, football linebacker and leader of his gang of cronies consisting of Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark. "Don't you have a game to get to?" Ruby mumbled.

Cardin laughed. "Look, she's so scared! Wittle puppy can't even growl," he mocked.

"Well at least I know when I'm outmatched, and I don't try to break my face at every opportunity!" Ruby surprised herself with the outburst, but not as much as Cardin.

He glared at the faunus. "You little… you'll regret that!" Cardin grabbed Ruby by her shoulders and shoved her against the lockers. "Wanna beg?"

Trying to show resistance, the crimsonette spit at Cardin, but it ended up dribbling down her chin like a line of drool. Cardin and his cronies laughed at her as she struggled in his grip. Ruby kicked at Cardin and managed to skin his leg, eliciting a small hiss of pain from the bigger boy. In a rage, Cardin swung his fist at Ruby, hitting her right on the cheek, then quickly pulling her off the lockers and shoving her into her own locker before slamming it in her face.

Russel spit on the locker Ruby was in. "That'll teach you not to mess with us."

"I don't know. I think you four need to learn a lesson." Blake stepped into the focus of the boys, crossing her arms with an air of confidence.

Dove smirked. "Yeah, right. What's another girl gonna do to us. Any one of us got you beat."

Blake smirked along with Dove. "Is that so?" In the blink of an eye Blake was in front of Dove, throwing a quick but strong punch at him. Her fist connected with jaw and a shout of pain echoed through the empty hallway. Blake looked at her knuckles, noticing hints of blood, but she paid it no mind; she had three other idiots to deal with.

Russel and Sky tried to tag team her, one of them kicking, the other punching, but they were easily outmatched. Blake kicked Sky's foot away, then brought her foot around to kick him in the side of the leg, momentarily stunning him. At the same time she intercepted Russell's punch and twisted his arm, causing him to cry out in pain. With both the boys stunned, she delivered two swift kicks to their chests, pushing them to the ground.

Cardin glared at her, threatening, "If you come any closer I'll beat you to a pulp."

"So you think," Blake quipped, before rushing him. She swung her fist at his face, but pulled off to the side, Cardin took her bait and leaned away from the punch. She swiped a foot under his leg, causing him to fall on his bottom. Blake delivered a quick kick to his side, then a downward punch to his ribs. Grabbing his hair and lifting his head, Blake whispered in his ear, "You leave me alone, you leave Ruby alone, and you don't mention this to anyone. I don't expect you to be a problem in the future. If you are, we'll have to deal with that."

Turning tail and bolting, Cardin abandoned his cronies to run off, but they quickly caught up. Blake took a moment to collect herself, realizing how much she had reverted to her White Fang origins when threatening and fighting Cardin. "Blake?" a meek voice called out.

"Ruby," Blake breathed, as she remembered why she started the fight. Coming up to the locker the wolf faunus was locked in, Blake put her hands on the door. "Are you okay in there?"

The response was quick and small. "I'm fine, but it's really cramped. Could you maybe open it?"

"Right, what's the code?" Blake asked her.

"7, 29, 36," Ruby told her. Blake spun the lock until it clicked and opened. Ruby quickly pushed the door open away and stumbled out, gasping for fresh air. She had neglected to tell Blake about her claustrophobia, so it was that much more strange for Blake as she watched the younger girl sigh in relief.

Hesitantly, Blake tried to ask, "Is there any reason-" but she was cut off by a voice from around the corner.

"Rubes, you're kinda late, so Ice Queen and I came to find ya." Yang turned the corner with Weiss in tow, only to stop when she noticed the two girls, Ruby's bruising cheek, and Blake's bloody hand. "What did you do!" Yang screeched before hurling herself at Blake.

Unsurprised, Blake was prepared for Yang's quick punches. Yang threw her right fist as if it were on fire, but Blake managed to catch it in her palm with some difficulty. Yang growled and threw her other fist, only for it to be intercepted by Blake's other hand. Undeterred, Yang kicked her foot, only to be parried by Blake's leg. "You're going to regret this!" Yang yelled.

"Yang, stop!" Ruby yelped. Looking at her sister, fire still in her eyes, Yang gave her little room to explain. "Blake didn't hurt me, I promise!"

Weiss had reached Ruby's side and was fussing over her cheek silently. "I have a hard time believing that," both Yang and Weiss said in unison.

"It's true," Blake told her stoically.

"Like I'd ever believe you," Yang spat.

Ruby ran up to pull Yang's fists from Blake's hands. "Really!" she gasped, "It was Cardin, I swear! He and his group started calling me names, and then he beat me up and shoved me in a locker. Blake saw it happen and she beat them up and sent them running." Blake nodded her head in agreement, releasing Yang's fists.

Glaring at Blake, Yang stepped back. "I believe you Rubes, but I don't trust your friend."

"What's not to trust?" the faunus asked, pointing at the blank faced Blake with a bloody fist.

"Many things," Weiss chipped in. "You need to get your face cleaned up. It's probably going to bruise anyway."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Ruby mumbled. Blake perked up at the comment, her hidden cat ears picking it up. _What does that mean_ the girl in black thought.

Pulling Ruby away from Blake, Yang turned to walk away. "Yeah, let's hope what you two say is true," and then to her sister, "come on Rubes, we should get home." The two sisters turned and left, leaving the monochromatic duo at the scene of the fight.

"I don't trust you."

Blake looked at Weiss, hiding a glare at the Schnee. "I'm not surprised."

With a sudden burst of anger, Weiss protested, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that I'm not surprised a Schnee wouldn't like anyone but her butlers. I can only imagine how Ruby must feel."

Weiss looked taken aback. "Are you implying I mistreat Ruby?" No reply. "Well, she's one of my closest friends, and you obviously have no idea how I treat my friends."

"And I'm glad I don't," Blake antagonized.

"Why you, ugh!" Weiss complained. "You've done nothing but cause Ruby problems since you showed up. I'm trying to be nice and respect her friends, but you are clearly a terrible influence!"

Blake felt the heiresses glare deepening, and she matched it with her own. "You don't know anything about my influences, you just met me! Maybe you were too blind to see what's actually going on with Ruby because you think everything's perfect!"

"That's preposterous! I know Ruby has never had problems before you showed up, and that you've only made her life worse and caused her pain!" Blake paused for a moment. Something Weiss was saying clicked in her brain.

"You like Ruby."

"What!" Weiss gasped, cheeks heating up.

Blake felt her chest tightening up as she spoke to the heiress. "You have an undeniable crush on Rose."

"How could you ever say that, you're insane," Weiss defended.

"But you didn't deny it."

Weiss grasped for words, but couldn't find any. Eventually she huffed at Blake before turning heel and storming away. Blake closed Ruby's locker and looked at her fist. "Guess it's competition then."

* * *

The Kingpin sat at his desk, waiting for a call. He didn't normally wait for anyone, but this call was important to him. One minute ticked by. Two, three, four, and then a ring. Letting the phone ring three times, the man then picked it up. "Hello," he said in a low, regal tone.

"Sir," a sultry voice drawled out on the other line. "We've arrived."

The man took a moment before replying. "Have you met with Adam yet?"

"Yes," the other line crackled, taking as much time as he was to respond, "He was angry, as expected. Nothing I can't handle though. Fire with fire."

"He agreed to the terms, correct."

A mischievous laugh came from the other line. "Well of course, sir. He's willing to give over Rose, and it should be a breeze catching her and his other interest."

The Kingpin let out a small, rare smile. "And his supplies are but a dent in our resources. Who knew getting Rose would be so easy?"

"Well, the only problem is actually finding Adam's Nightshade, we can't take Rose without her. But don't worry. Adam's got his grunts working on it, and I have Roman and Neo out looking, and Emerald and Mercury on high alert. It won't take long to find her, and with all our power we can bring those two in."

Confident in himself, the Kingpin did not falter. "Then proceed according to plan. Oh, and Cinder, make sure the Rose is subdued."

"Of course," the voice replied.

* * *

 **So okay. We've got the Kingpin, the special employer (Cinder) Adam talked about in the previous chapter, and Weiss, Yang, and Blake have all interacted. I know it seems kind of weird that Cardin would choose to harass Ruby after school, but it's more like him seeing an opportunity. I also said we'd get to see Ruby's reaction to the mysterious figure, but I actually want to factor that in next chapter.**

 **Also Blake seems kind of OOC in this chapter, but it's her way of defending herself, turning the table on other people, a defense she learned from the White Fang. Hope the fight scenes weren't too choppy, and yes, Weiss has a crush on Ruby, I tried to make it pretty clear in chapter two.**

 **The Kingpin is the employer from last chapter to anyone who never figured that out, so yeah. Also, I'd love to hear who you think the Kingpin is. Bonus points to anyone who actually figures it out. I hope to post the next chapter soon, but I make no promises. Hope you enjoyed, I'll be back when… whenever.**


	4. What Happens in the Night

" **Back again so soon?" you say. Yes, yes I am. I have a lot of free time over the weekends, so I kinda just write. A lot. Yeah. So this chapter isn't any action, really. It's more of an exposition chapter, but there is a lot of useful information.**

 **Thanks to anyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed, I really appreciate it. I apologize for any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes. Anyway, it's disclaimer time.**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is not mine. If it was, there would be a spider faunus character named Peter Parker.**

* * *

"We have to fight to get them to recognize us! All the humans who think we don't deserve to be seen. All the reporters who look past our starving brothers. Every single high class man and woman who think everything's perfect up on their cloud. We'll show them, we'll show them just how important we are. We'll show them our power! We'll show them our wrath! We'll show them what it's like to be a dog!"

The crowd was screaming in support, riled up from Adam's speech. Cinder stood to the side with her subordinates, watching in amusement. "He really knows how to throw a temper tantrum," she stated rhetorically.

Emerald looked at the woman's back and frowned. "I still don't trust him, are you sure this is the best course of action?"

"Ah come on, Emerald," Mercury teased, "he's to only other guy aware of her."

"Which makes him the best partner," Cinder finished. "I don't like him either, but he's the only one with enough manpower to actually help us." Emerald groaned in frustration, but didn't say anything.

Adam had left his elevated position to join the three. "Do you have any leads?" he ordered.

Huffing, Mercury and Emerald showed various degrees of insubordination, but Cinder remained as collected as ever. "We know exactly where the Rose is, but we just don't have enough room to move on her. She's to well protected, we need an out. She's come in contact with Nightshade, so we find both of them and go our separate ways."

Laughing in his signature low voice, Adam looked at Cinder as if he had just called checkmate. "If you have Rose, why not just take off with her?"  
"Like Cinder said, she's too well protected." Emerald.

"And we can't just move in on her without any sort of backup plan. Her family, friends, classmates, they'll all notice she's missing," Mercury added.

"If Nightshade is in the way, we can catch her as well, then blame everything on her. Make it look like Rose was fatally wounded, or that she was kidnapped by an unknown individual. Nightshade gives us that opening. We find your runaway cat, we get our wolf." Cinder was in no hurry to explain any of her plans to Adam, but it was clear he had almost no idea what he was working with.

Adam seemed to think Cinder's plan over for a moment. "Alright, that could work. What do you know about Rose's connections?"

Cinder looked at Emerald to explain their information. "Well," Emerald started, "Rose goes to the advanced placement school, Beacon High, and has even been placed two years ahead." Adam didn't seem at all impressed. "She's in the same grade as her sister, Yang Xiao Long. Xiao Long is a brawler, often gets into fights, and… likes to make puns." Emerald seemed hesitant to add the last characteristic. "She's friends with Weiss Schnee-"

"SCHNEE!" Adam bellowed in a sudden rage. "Rose is with a Schnee!"

Mercury stepped closer to Adam. "Calm down, Schnee's not even that bad. Prissy and annoying, but she seems to like Rose a lot." Adam stepped closer to Mercury, but only huffed, and then stepped back again.

Emerald looked at Cinder, asking for permission to continue. Cinder silently nodded, and Emerald continued. "Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren, commonly known by the name JNPR, a high caliber academic decathlon team, are also very close to Rose." Adam made it very clear he had no idea who JNPR were.

"Um, her father, Taiyang Xiao Long is a widower since his wife-"

"Stop," Adam interrupted, "Skip this, I already have that information. In fact, I already know all about Rose and her family. Keep to her new life."

Looking slightly confused, Emerald didn't question Adam. "This information is slightly outdated, maybe about a month old. It should be enough to go on, we'll just need you to tell us a little more about Nightshade."

Adam turned to look at Cinder, face suddenly grimacing. "Where do I start with Blake Belladonna."

* * *

Sprawled out on her bed, Ruby couldn't stop her hands from shaking. The fight hadn't been too bad, but her fear of the figure from the night before and the claustrophobia just added to her normal anxiety. Ruby flexed her fingers and toes, attempting to relieve some of the stress, but her body didn't stop shaking.

A knock echoed from the window. The wolf shot up, wide eyes staring forward. She waited a moment, but no sound. Just as she went to lay back down, another knock. Hesitantly, Ruby stood up and walked towards the window. No knocks.

Slowly grabbing the bottom of the frame, Ruby pulled the window open less than an inch. That was enough, and suddenly fingers were under the frame, pulling it open all the way. The crimsonette scrambled back in surprise, the woman from the night before pulling herself through the window. She had her signature black catsuit, cat ears and mask, this time accompanied with a hood with holes for said ears. "What are you doing here, please leave!" Ruby squeaked.

The figure moved light and quick across the room, and stood in front of the door, blocked off Ruby's primary escape route. "I need to make sure you stay true to your word."

"W-what?" Ruby stuttered, eyes barely meeting the woman's.

The older faunus approached the younger silently. Ruby tried to back up, but she found herself on the bed. "You saw things last night. I let you go. I need to make sure you don't tell anyone."

The voice was deep, deeper than Ruby remembered it being, and it was a lot more indistinguishable than it had been the night before. "I promise, I haven't and I won't tell anyone. I just want to forget I saw anything."

"Unfortunately, that won't happen. I'll be checking in on you often to make sure you're true to your word. So I'll need you to leave that window unlocked from now on." Ruby was appalled by the order.

Stumbling over her words, Ruby gave the woman a pleading look. She didn't receive a reply and they kept staring at each other. "I- I can't just let a murderous stranger into my room constantly!" Ruby tried to reason.

"Call me Nightshade," the woman replied, "and now we aren't strangers." The wolf just lowered her tail between her legs. "It's a real shame you did see me, though. The Vale Police are already searching for me, under the radar of course, and you've made yourself a target. Not just for them, but for the White Fang."

A loud whimper caused Nightshade to look up, and even she was surprised seeing how distraught Ruby looked at the mention of the White Fang. "Ruby?" Nightshade asked, almost slipping into her natural voice.

"Just don't let them find out about me. I promise I won't tell." Ruby noticed Nightshade's use of her name, but she didn't care. "I don't want them hurting me or my friends."

"Selflessness won't get you anywhere. But I'll do you that favor." Making eye contact with the vigilante, the crimsonette offered her silent thanks. Nightshade nodded and moved to the window. "I'll be seeing you soon." And then she was gone.

* * *

Weiss sat with her back straight as she pretended to be interested in whatever the man onstage was talking about. Her mind was already racing over multiple different things; Would she remember all the words to the song she would sing? Did her father arrange another suitor for her to meet? Did she have all her work done for her extra service projects? How did Blake know? How did Blake know.

When Blake had confronted Weiss about her feelings, it was obvious to deny it. But the more Weiss thought about what Blake had said, the more she found herself agreeing with the statement. She was undeniably in love with Ruby.

It seemed strange to even think about love. When had she even liked Ruby? Well, in _that_ way. They had been friends for a year, and then suddenly she was in love. That dolt had stolen her heart from right under her nose. Typical of a faunus.

"And now introducing, Weiss Schnee." Weiss was broken out of her trance at hearing her name. The people around her clapped, and she stood up, giving a quick curtsy before walking up to grab a microphone on stage.

Breathing deeply, Weiss momentarily cleared her mind of Ruby, playing the song in her head quickly. "This song is in honor of all those hurt by the White Fang. We'll stop them and return order to our world," she spoke with a monotone voice, repeating the words her father had written down on a card for her. The acoustics started to play and Weiss could feel her heart getting heavy.

…

 _You got your hell together_

 _You know it could be worse_

 _A self-inflicted murder, maybe, maybe_

 _You say it's all a crisis_

 _You say it's all a blur_

 _There comes a time you gotta face it, face it_

 _Hey, hell is what you make_

 _Rise against your faith_

 _Nothing's gonna keep you down_

 _Even if it's killing you_

 _Because you know the truth_

 _Listen up, Listen up_

 _There's a devil in the church_

 _Got a bullet in the chamber and_

 _This is gonna hurt_

 _Let it out, let it out_

 _You can scream and you can shout_

 _Keep your secrets in the shadows and you'll be sorry_

 _Everybody's getting numb_

 _And everybody's on the run_

 _Listen up, listen up_

 _There's a devil in the church_

 _Got a bullet in the chamber and_

 _This is gonna hurt_

…

When the song had finished all the attendees clapped politely, thinking they had understood exactly the message Weiss was trying to convey. Weiss returned to her seat, hands in her lap. The song wasn't about the White Fang. It wasn't about getting rid of the faunus. Weiss was crying for help. She was the devil. And when everything came crashing down it would hurt. A lot.

Because how could someone as sweet as Ruby ever love a devil?

* * *

 **So villains, main characters, and love problems. Cool. First, I want to talk about JNPR. I know I haven't really featured them, and I was going to feature them in this chapter, but I decided to do that next chapter. Also, the villains have outdated information on Ruby, so they don't know about Blake yet, therefore Adam doesn't know about Blake.**

 **The Ruby and Nightshade interaction was hard to write because I didn't really see much happening, but it was also very fun to write. Nightshade seems kind of demanding of Ruby, but she mainly just does things her way.**

 **And then the Weiss scene. I actually did not plan on writing this scene at all, but I kind of liked it. Weiss doesn't see herself as a good person, so she's not sure why Ruby could ever want to be around her. The song she sings is called** _ **This Is Gonna Hurt**_ **by Sixx: A.M. (the acoustic version) and I suggest checking that song out. And if you're into RWBY AMVs then there is a This Is Gonna Hurt AMV by Primordial Paper that is really sad but really good and I suggest watching it.**

 **All in all, thanks for reading. I'd appreciate a review, favorite, or follow, but you do you man. I'll... see? No... write? to y'all next chapter, yeah, I'll write to y'all next chapter and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.** _ **Ciao!**_


	5. JNPR

**I'm finally back! I was going to post this tomorrow, but I had it done so I decided to post it today. Sorry for any grammatical errors and spelling errors. Really quickly, I just wanted to address something. As of right now, not everyone - including me - has seen Volume Six Episode One. I understand a lot of you and a lot of others want to right one shots and stuff about the new episodes, but I'd like to kindly ask for people to keep away from that until the episode has aired for the general public. I'm totally okay with writing Volume Six stuff, but try to keep it to the things available for the general public. Other than that, I hope you enjoy**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, rights belong to Rooster Teeth and the late Monty Oum.**

* * *

Yang shook Ruby awake with a grin on her face. "Yang?" Ruby asked in confusion, afraid that she had remembered.

"Rubes, JNPR is back! Nora just texted me that they'll be in class today!" Yang squealed. Good, she had forgotten. Ruby smiled in spite of herself, excited that her friends were back. "And it's Halloween, so they can come with us and Ice Queen so we can party-"

"I'm underage, Yang," Ruby cut in, reminded her sister of her situation. "In fact, your underage, so you shouldn't be partying where we both know there are… illegal substances."

Laughing, Yang pulled her sister out of the bed and started pulling clothes out from her closet. "Sometimes I wonder if you're the older sibling, Rubes." The wolf smiled and took her clothes from Yang, remembering to grab her sweatshirt on top of everything else. The blonde ushered her sister into the bathroom and waited outside for her to change and get ready.

"So," Yang started, continuing their conversation through the wall, "are you excited Jaune's back?" Ruby smiled slightly as she buttoned her shirt. Jaune had been her first friend at Beacon, other than Yang, and they were still like brother and sister to this day. Ruby had even been the one to tell Yang about Jaune and Pyrrha's crushes, which led to the brawler locking them in a closet together until they confessed their feelings.

The wolf grabbed her tail to stop it from wagging. "Yeah, it'll be nice to see them all. Even if Nora's probably going to rant about it nonstop."

"That's what Ren's for!" Yang sing-songed through the door. Finishing her morning activities in the bathroom, Ruby exited to join Yang on the other side. Ruby opened her mouth but before she got a word out her stomach spoke for her. Yang poked her sister's stomach. "You hungry?" she asked the stomach.

The stomach growled in response as Ruby turned bright red. "I can get you some food…" Yang trailed off. Ruby gave her sister a look before Yang continued. "But… we're running late so you have to eat it when we get to school!" The blonde took off out the door.

"Yang!" Ruby called indignantly. When she realized her sister wasn't coming back, Ruby took off out the door, barely remembering to grab her backpack and all her textbooks.

The brawler may have had an extremely lean build with towering muscle mass, but Ruby was much smaller and quicker, most likely the fastest kid at the school. She had been asked to join track many times but Ruby had always denied for unknown reasons.

Catching up in no time, the crimsonette jogged by her sister and pouted angrily. "Yang, I'm hungry and tired, can I please have my breakfast!"

The older sibling slowed to a stop and reached into her bag, shuffling through the mess of books, looking for Ruby's breakfast. "I put it right under this so-" Yang's face fell. "Oh."

Suddenly worried, Ruby tried to peek into the bag. "What is it?"

Yang looked at her sister nervously. "I may have brought a few hard boiled eggs… that weren't actually hard boiled." The crimsonette's eyes widened in horror. "Don't worry!" the blonde cut in, "I had it in a bag so there's no mess-"

"I don't care about the mess," Ruby yelped, "I'm starving!" Her stomach growled loudly in agreement.

"Eh heh, sorry?" Yang offered sheepishly.

* * *

Blake had a quiet morning. She had gotten up and gone through her morning routine quick enough to warrant a nice cup of tea to savor before she would head to school. As she drank her tea, her thoughts quickly drifted to Ruby. Had she been too harsh to the girl the night before? Ruby looked terrified at the mention of the White Fang. Why?

She didn't have time to dwell on her thoughts, otherwise she would be late. Blake finished her cup of tea and headed out of her apartment, locking the door and checking it twice. It was never wrong to be too careful.

Arriving at school after an uneventful walk she noticed a crowd of people at the front of the school. Deciding to investigate further, she noticed a group of seven people, three of which she knew. Ruby stood glaring at her sister while Yang looked like she was trying to make jokes to diffuse the situation. "Come on sis, there's no reason to _crack_ so early in the morning." People groaned.

"Yang, stop with the stupid jokes," Ice Queen muttered.

Yang pouted. "But _Weiss_! I think they're _eggcellent_." More groans.

Despite the argument, what seemed to be drawing more attention was the other group of four. A tall blonde boy who looked nervous on his feet, an equally tall red head who reminded Blake of Pyrrha Nikos, one of the most renowned young scholars, an orange haired girl with a psychotic glint in her eyes, and a stoic boy who had a calm facade masked with annoyance.

Blonde boy had his hand on Ruby's back, and Nikos look alike was standing directly behind the girl. Ice Queen had placed herself between the two sisters as a short of middle man. Psycho Girl stood by Ice Queen but faced towards Yang as if asking her to throw a punch. Stoic Boy had a hand on Psycho Girl's shirt, holding her in place. Blake really needed to learn their names.

A stomach growled, pulling Blake out of her own head. "Yang! Dad never said he boiled those eggs, what if you had given me one and it cracked over my hands!" Ruby looked genuinely frustrated, but it was hard to take her seriously when her stomach kept interrupting her own mouth.

"I'll get you something at the cafeteria, Ruby," Blonde Boy replied.

Ruby's eyes lit up. "Really!"

"As will I," the Nikos Look Alike replied. They turned away and headed inside the doors. A considerable chunk of the group of students followed them.

Yang sighed in relief, not wanting to anger her sister. Psycho Girl cheered, pulling herself away from Stoic Boy. "Whoo! Team JNPR off to get some pancakes!"

Stoic Boy grabbed her shirt again. "Nora, they don't serve pancakes in the morning, only packaged cereals and the like." Psycho Girl, or Nora, didn't slow down as she pulled Stoic Boy away. The rest of the students followed the last two in.

Blake blinked in surprise. Had they said Team JNPR? The decathlon team? All advanced placement students knew about them and Pyrrha Nikos, one of the smartest kids at her age. That would mean Blonde Boy was Jaune Arc, Psycho Girl was Nora Valkyrie, and Stoic Boy was Lie Ren. That had really been Pyrrha Nikos, not just a look alike. Ruby was friends with famous people. _That puts a target on her back_ , Blake thought.

Drifting over to Yang and Ice Queen, Blake softly asked them, "You two and Ruby are friends with JNPR?"

Yang looked at her and immediately frowned when she noticed it was Blake. Weiss's scowl only deepened. "Yeah, but it's none of your business," Yang snarled, "bet you were surprised Ruby has actual friends, huh."

Blake shrugged. "I just didn't expect JNPR to go here of all schools."

"There's a lot of things you won't expect about Beacon," Weiss replied with her nose in the air. "And there's a lot of things you won't expect about us."

"So Ruby and Jaune aren't dating." Yang blanched at the thought. Weiss looked absolutely appalled.

"No way," a pale Yang replied.

"Jaune's with Pyrrha anyways," Weiss added. Blake just raised her eyebrow at the Ice Queen.

Turning away from the two, Blake didn't even acknowledge them as she left, only leaving a simple, "It's better she doesn't have any close relationships with them." The brawler glared at the ravenette who couldn't seem to stop being condescending, acting as if she knew more about Ruby than her own sister did.

Weiss was frustrated beyond reasonable thinking. "I don't know how Ruby gets along with someone like that."

Yang's fists shook with rage. "That's one thing we can agree on."

* * *

Pyrrha and Jaune held hands with Ruby sitting in between them, looking almost as if she were there honorary daughter. Nora and Ren walked into the cafeteria, not far behind them. After entering the building Ren had politely asked everyone to leave them alone, but it was clear that Nora's glare was the reason the crowd had dispersed.

"Thanks again for getting me breakfast, guys," Ruby smiled.

Pyrrha gave her a kind smile back. "Of course Ruby. Everyone knows it's important to have a strong, healthy breakfast before starting the day."

"You're just quoting that Pumpkin Pete's commercial!" Jaune called her out. The crimsonette giggled into her hand, trying to stop milk from coming out.

Pyrrha smiled sheepishly. "I had to spend a lot of time memorizing those lines, I don't think I'll ever forget them."

Jaune laughed lightly as he stared at his girlfriend. "Then I won't forget them either." The leaned around Ruby and kissed, the young wolf squealing in happiness along with Nora (who was sitting across from them) and Ren gave one of his rare smiles to the pair.

The cafeteria was basically empty, nobody wanting to come early to get a school breakfast. The doors to the cafeteria opened, drawing the five's attention. Ruby's smile got wider as she cheered, "Hey Blake!"

The ravenette smiled slightly and replied, "Hello Ruby. I heard your argument with your sister, is everything alright?" JNPR gave the girl a slight glare that went right over Ruby's head, and if the newcomer noticed she didn't acknowledge it.

The crimsonette just smiled and wagged her tail. "Well Yang had me chase her to school on an empty stomach, and then it turns out she wanted to give me hard boiled eggs for breakfast, something I have had too many times, but those eggs weren't hardboiled and they actually cracked and I didn't have anything to eat." Blake barely held onto a word from Ruby's run on sentence, but she listened respectfully to what the girl had to say.

After the young girl had finished, Blake asked, "Can I actually speak with you for a moment Ruby. Alone." JNPR immediately looked ready to shoot down the idea, clearly already being informed on Blake from Yang or Weiss.

"Sure!" Ruby replied with a bright smile, getting out of her seat from between Jaune and Pyrrha. The faunus seemed oblivious to the worried glances her friends were giving her. They had quickly picked up on the bad vibe about Blake that Weiss had talked about. The girl seemed nice, but JNPR was unsure of why she seemed to ignore everyone but their young friend.

Ruby followed Blake out of the cafeteria and into the bathrooms. Blake made sure the room was empty before turning back to Ruby. "I have a question to ask you."

Smiling her usual happy smile, the crimsonette replied, "Shoot."

Nightshade hadn't been able to ask this question, and it was obvious Ruby didn't trust Nightshade enough to talk about it. But Ruby trusted Blake, so this was her best shot. "What do you know about the White Fang?"

The young girl's legs started to shake. "Ruby?" She started to get tunnel vision, her senses blurring together. "Ruby!" _Not today? Why now?_ Her legs gave out and she collapsed into waiting arms. "RUBY!"

* * *

 _The young wolf faunus sat atop a crate, her mother pacing across the room. It was supposed to be the twelve year old's birthday, but the White Fang were more important than a party. "I don't think this is a good idea anymore," Summer mumbled._

" _Mom, why can't we just go home already?" young Ruby asked._

" _Because, honey, the White Fang are recruiting tonight, and they need as here as a precaution in case any policemen show up." Summer tried to hide her white lie with a smile._

 _Ruby cocked her head to the side, ears alert. "Isn't Uncle Qrow a policeman?"_

" _Yes, dear… but that's different," Summer sighed. Ruby shrugged her shoulders and swung her legs forward and back against her crate._

 _A sudden noise shook through the cargo hold. "What was that?" Ruby asked. Summer turned pale, wolf ears turning, listening for movement. Ruby picked up her mask, but didn't put it on yet. Her mother didn't wear a mask at all, a protest against those who chose to wear masks. She let her daughter wear one to shield her identity. "Mom?"_

" _Ruby, listen to me very carefully…" another shake. Adam burst through the door, coming across the two of them. He had a hateful glare on his face, directed straight at Summer._

 _He spit on the ground of the cargo hold. "Trying to run away Summer? Trying to take our little Rose too?"_

 _Summer growled. "She was never yours! You don't own her!"_

 _Adam smirked. "But don't I?" Summer lunged at him, drawing a thin blade. Adam countered with his own blade, staring at Summer through the holes in his mask. "I'm going to destroy everything you love and take back_ my _Rose. You made a commitment to the faunus and now you're turning your back on us. You're just as bad as any human!"_

" _Ruby, get out of here," Summer managed to get out._

" _Mom!" Ruby screamed, trying to get closer to the fight._

" _Ruby! Run!"_

 _As Summer yelled, Adam managed to plunge his blade straight into her gut. Summer looked down in surprise, then back up at Adam's smirk. "Goodbye Summer." Ruby watched her mother fall limp in Adam's arms. He turned to face her and wiped Summer's blood off his blade. "Come here Rose," he ordered._

 _Obeying Summer's last words, Ruby bolted out of the cargo hold faster than Adam has seen anyone run. He chased her for as far as he could go, but eventually lost her. He cursed under his breath, and vowed to find Rose no matter how many people he had to kill to get his weapon back._

 _Ruby didn't know where she was going, but she ran like her life depended on it. She had just witnessed her mother's death, right in front of her face. She slumped down against a nearby alley wall and sobbed until she had no more tears left to cry. She was alone._

 _A voice echoed in the back of her head. He mother's voice._ Happy Birthday my Rose.

* * *

 **So Ruby's birthday is on Halloween, and she doesn't want Yang to remember. Also, we get insight into Ruby's time at the White Fang, though very small. Also - Qrow reference! He'll show up eventually. We also got the introduction of Team JNPR, finally. Jaune and Pyrrha are so cute it's not even funny.**

 **Also, literally everyone except Ruby hates Blake. Then again, Blake doesn't really care. I hope you enjoyed this longer chapter, I plan on having a chapter of The Pirate and the Princess out tomorrow, but I'm not sure. Happy Halloween, and Happy Volume 6! I'll be back.**


	6. Truth Be Told

**Yeeeeaaaah, it's been a bit. In my defense, RWBY Volume 6 is too hype for me to function right now. So last chapter wasn't exactly a great chapter, and as WolvesRock14 said, "Someone better give Ruby a hug next Chapter of there will be consequences!" Yeah, I'm sorry in advance. Things start getting real Au-ish, even more than before. This is where the T rating really starts to come into play.**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorite, followed, or read last chapter, I appreciate it a lot. I'm also very sorry for what's about to happen.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. If I did, Unicorn of War would've burned down my house long ago (props if you get the reference).**

* * *

Yang and Weiss were quick to join Team JNPR in the cafeteria, but were surprised to find it absent of the wolf faunus. "Yang," Jaune spoke in a worried tone. "That girl you talked about, she showed up and Ruby left with her."

Turning to glare at the boy, she asked, "What?" Clearly, she hadn't quite calmed down yet.

Ren came to the other boy's aid. "The Belladonna girl you mentioned. She came in and asked about Ruby's wellbeing before requesting her in private. They left a few minutes ago."

"I have no idea where they went," Nora chipped in.

"Sorry we don't know more, but she talked very little," Pyrrha apologized in her normal fashion. Weiss looked frustrated, thoughts surrounding the raven haired girl who had messed up their whole school life in just a few days.

Pointing a finger at Team JNPR, Weiss starting giving out orders. "I'm going to go find her before the bell. I assume you all want to help, and you can do so by looking for her in groups. Jaune, Pyrrha, you two check Ruby's homeroom." They nodded and stood up, ready to leave when they were dismissed. "Ren, Nora, you two check by Ruby's locker. See if anybody nearby saw her."

"I love a good manhunt," Nora said manically.

Weiss rolled her eyes at the crazy girl. "Yang, you and I will check the more private areas. Closed classrooms, bathrooms, the like."

"Let's go Ice Queen," Yang took command, not wanting to waste another second. The paired off Team JNPR left as well in search of their friend. "I don't trust that girl with Ruby. Doesn't she seem off to you?" Yang questioned.

Weiss's mind flashed back to Blake and their confrontation. _Great first impressions_ , she thought bitterly. "She talks like she's pretending to be someone else, and Ruby's the only person she's fooling."

The blonde sighed at the mention of her half sister. "Ruby's adorable, but sometimes she's just too trusting and naive." Weiss nodded. The two of them approached a nearby bathroom, and the inside looked like it had just been recently used. The sink was still dripping water and their were still paper towels scattered around on the floor.

"Nobody here, let's go," Weiss stated. The two left the room, failing to notice drops of blood tainting the white tile.

* * *

Starting to come to, Ruby noticed she wasn't in the bathroom anymore. Her body was laying on something soft, and her head felt weightless. The wolf also noticed something warm covering her up to her chest. She tried to open her eyes, and it took a few attempts until she was successful.

The room she was in was painted purple, a dark color that gave off an eerie atmosphere. Shelves filled with books lined the walls, and papers seemed to be strewn about a desk in the corner. Ruby herself was lying on a bed with a black duvet cover, and when she went to touch her head she felt a bandage wrapped tightly around it.

A creak sound and the door opened, causing Ruby to jump in her bed and scramble back. Through the door walked Blake with another handful of bandages. She dropped them when she noticed the scared faunus. "Ruby, you're okay!" came the surprised response.

"Wh-what happened?"

A frown showed up on Blake's face before she leaned down to pick up the fallen bandages. "We were at school and you passed out and hit your head. I brought you back to my apartment."

The younger girl now wore a matching frown. "Why not take me to the nurse's office. They probably could have treated me there." Blake looked nervous. Truth be told, she had brought Ruby back to her apartment to avoid the girl's friends and keep her from telling anyone what Blake had asked. Surely the young faunus wouldn't talk to Blake again without some motivation.

"The nurse was out on a trip and I didn't know what to do," Blake lied. Warily, Ruby accepted the lie. "What do you remember?"

Pausing, Ruby thought back to her most recent memories and gasped at what surfaced. "You-you asked and… then I remembered. W-why did you?"

Bypassing the girl's question, Blake pressed on, ignoring the mental state of the scared faunus. "What did you remember?"

Ruby kept stuttering, "Not today, N-n-no, no, no, not t-today. Please, please, please, not today." She was trembling beyond belief.

"Ruby!" the young girl looked at her savior. "I need you to tell me what you remembered."

And then the floodgate opened. Ruby was sobbing and held her head in her hands. "My mom, she tried to leave. S-she, she tried. He, he showed up and, and it happened so fast and, and, oh no, no, no, no. Not today! She was going to give me my gift when we got home, no, no, no, no! I ran, I ran so fast, and, and, and-" she couldn't get her final words out.

Hesitantly, Blake asked, "And?"

"SHE'S DEAD! He killed her, he killed her. I ran so fast, as fast as I could but he's always there! He still sees me, I know he does. I can't run anymore, I can't! Yang doesn't know, Weiss doesn't know, Jaune and Pyrrha don't know, Ren, Nora, none of them can know!"

Blake was afraid she had broken the girl by bringing up her past. "It was my birthday, the one day she said it was all for me! I was so excited and then she died. It's all my fault! I tried. I tried, Mom, I tried, but I can't do it!"

Finally stepping in, Blake put a hand on the girl's shaking shoulder. "Who did this?"

"I did! It's my fault!" The faunus cried.

Rephrasing, the older girl questioned, "Who is 'he'?"

More sobbing until she choked out a name. "Adam Taurus."

* * *

With all the robberies he was pulling and the planning in between, Roman was not happy that Cinder had him observing some little girl as well. The child was probably useless, like every other kid on the market, but he still obeyed his boss's orders. "Neo, tell me, if you were a little defenseless faunus, where would you hang out?"

She flipped him off, knowing he was teasing her for the very fact she couldn't tell him. The master thief ignored her and continued to talk to himself. "That's right! One little Beacon Academy for Idiotic Children. Observe her patterns, know her friends, we find out her weak spots." Neo just rolled her eyes and followed her partner.

Reaching the gate the bordered the grounds the two noticed how empty it seemed without any kids milling about within the gates parameters. "What a shame, they've already started. Should we join them?" Neo slapped his cane hand and glared at him. "Okay, yeah, I get it. Lay low until we've got what we need." The ice cream girl's eyes widened in surprise and she slapped Roman once again.

He turned around and noticed two girls approaching the school, one with a bow atop her head and another with wolf ears and a tail. "Well, looks like we hit the jackpot, ice cream." She glared at him for using the nickname. "Oh red!" He called, gaining the two girls' attention.

The older one stepped in front of Red but held onto her arm protectively. "Who are you," the raven haired girl asked.

"I'm surprised," Roman exclaimed, waving his cane around. "You haven't been watching the news lately, have you?"

It clicked in the raven haired girl's mind as she figured out the notorious Roman Torchwick was holding them up. "Ruby, run," the older girl spoke. Red tensed up at the words and slowly backed away from the scene.

A sigh from the thief. "Neo, make sure she doesn't get away." A nod and a cartwheel later the man was left facing the angry teenager. "Now I don't wanna hurt either of you, but I need some information. Preferably free." A silent glare from the girl prompted him to keep talking. "See, your little mutt knows someone by the name of Nightshade," the girl immediately tensed at the name. "Wow. Do you know her too?" the orange haired man mocked.

"You leave the two of us alone or-"

Roman cut her off, "Or what?" He motioned to behind the girl. She turned around and noticed Red with a new bruised eye standing next to Neo who looked frustrated (although she would never admit the faunus almost got away). "Now, what do you know about Nightshade?"

The girl reached for her back as if on instinct, before dropping her hands into fists. She charged Roman who managed to dodge her punch and swing back, only for his punch to be dodged as well. The thief threw a right cross that was parried and he sidestepped an uppercut. He brought up his cane and slammed the girl with it, but she was up without a second thought and kicked him in the side.

She kept attacking until a sick pop echoed across the courtyard. Red was doubled over in pain, and she dropped to her knees when Neo slammed her fists into the her back. "Ruby!" the raven haired girl called, but Roman took his chance and slammed her down with his cane. He swung his cane again but the girl caught it and pulled it out of his grip. She held it like she was wielding a katana and charged the man.

Neo interrupted the fight and knocked the older girl down to her knees. The bowler hat man snatched his can from her hands and kicked her one more time, ensuring she would stay down.

With both of them on the ground, Roman let his own guard down, relying on Neo for the time being. "I was hoping the information would come free, but sometimes a good beatdown does the job well enough. Your little mutt's hurt now because of you. All because you thought you could take me. Information on Nightshade, please."

"Blake," Red called as she attempted to stand up. She was thoroughly beaten. A black eye, an already bruised head, and likely a broken rib from Neo. She dropped back down to her knees and called, "Blake, no. Don't hurt her."

Roman recognized the name Blake. What had Cinder told him again? _Blake Belladonna goes by the name Nightshade. Adam wants her bad, and the best way of covering up the wolf is by getting Nightshade_. Roman turned to Red, who looked much more defeated than Blake. "What's her last name?"

Blake's eyes widened as she tried to stand, Neo quickly shoving her back down to the floor. "Ruby, no."

"What?" Ruby mumbled. Roman kneeled in front of the faunus and lifted her head to look him in the eyes.

"What's her last name?"

Blake shook her head. "No."

"Belladonna."

A smile, and he dropped her head. "Neo, I think we've got what we need." Neo held up a finger to him and tugged on Blake's bow. It came undone, revealing a twitching pair of cat ears beneath. Red gasped, but Roman rolled his eyes. "I figured that out Neo, you don't have to be so dramatic." The ice cream girl shrugged and let go of Blake, before joining her partner in walking off.

As quickly as she could manage, Blake stumbled to Ruby's side. "Ruby, are you okay?"

"You're a faunus? Why would you hide that?" the wolf asked. Both tried to get her up but neither succeeded. Ruby was far too fragile at the moment to move.

"That doesn't matter, I have to help you."

"That's why you were asking about the White Fang." Blake cringed, but she figured Ruby was putting the pieces together. "You've never asked about those things. You wouldn't even know if I had any connection with them. The only person who-" she froze.

Blake realized she put the pieces together. "Ruby…" she spoke warily.

"Y-you're Nightshade."

* * *

 **I can't help myself, I know. Cruel me. So Ruby's figured it out. It's probably Blake's fault. She's been so single minded that she stopped caring about being super secretive, and that lead to Ruby figuring out her identity. I know I skipped over Blake's reaction to Adam killing Summer, but I'll go over that later. For now, I wanted to timeskip to Roman figuring out Blake's identity.**

 **The startup with JNPR, Yang, and Weiss was mainly there to represent how Ruby's friends don't trust Blake, and how blissfully ignorant they are of what's actually going on. Trust me, that'll factor in later.**

 **Anyway, thanks as always for reading, and hopefully it won't take so long for the next chapter to be out. RWBY Volume 6 has me hyped, so writing has been harder seeing as I'm focused on that. Hope you enjoyed, I'd appreciate a favorite, follow, or review, but just reading is enough! Bon voyage!**


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